1 Dime "Draped Bust Dime" · “Draped Bust Dime”

The Draped Bust Dime: America's First Ten-Cent Piece

In 1796 the United States struck its first dime. Look closely and something is missing: nowhere on the coin does it say "ten cents," or "one dime," or anything at all about its value. That blank space is the whole early republic in miniature — a young country still figuring out what its money should even say.